A . J: --- t < "'.. "<::: - ... ... f:" ... :::::. .ø .>' !;z..; <I! ) ,. . .ri --" A ... *. :* t: .... ..: :;:. ::.:.. , C <:I- Yi : -- j! '*" 4 '.. :i: ....'" ......"'. .., / -:.... ':. .,: % ..::;::: . ... <4 f}:" "'..... . .: '. .... ;f -,,- . < ...... ; " I ;.;.:.:." .....: v( ..... ;*. ø'.... \..... * It wasn't so many years ago that a farmer had more faith in his arthri- tis than in the weatherman. But now satellites orbited as part of the space program are giving the weatherman "eyes" that see 4.5 million square miles of weather at a clip, the whole earth's weather every day. Photo- graphs like the one here help him chart storm systems over vast areas. If he says bad weather is headed for Nebraska, you can bet farmers will start to plan for it. From orbits approximately 700 miles above the earth, weather satel- lites transmit pictures which let the forecaster look down on the whole world's weather every day. He can watch storm systems de- velop over vast areas of the globe and chart their progress. Surprisingly, only two satellites do the entire job. Their orbits are such that they "follow" daylight around the earth, and photograph approxi- mately the same area at the same time every day. Ground stations in Alaska and Virginia pick up the electronically- stored pictures in batches daily as the satellite passes overhead. The photos are then joined to- gether in mosaics automatically by a computer, so that a fairly detailed analysis can be made of a large area. The picture here, for example, re- t R cords not only a huge storm system over the Great Plains, but also catches hurricane Beulah just south of Cuba, and hurricanes Doria and Chloe in the Atlantic. Local weather bureaus, airports, universities and TV stations in the U.S. and 45 other countries also re- ceive pictures, just seconds old, of their own localities as the satellite passes. (The receiving equipment is not even very sophisticated or ex- pensive. Several amateurs have, in fact, built their own.) Satellites are taking on a variety of new jobs: relaying telephone calls and TV pictures between continents, acting as navigation aids for ships and planes, helping to chart the oceans and map undeveloped lands. And soon they'l] be used to locate l11ineral resources, follow migrations of fish, and even investigate atmos- pheric influences on air pollution "Goodness, how ,ve'd like to know why the weather alters so," a poet complained a generation ago. Who could have imagined then that satel- lites in space would be helping us find out? The several divisions of AI art.in L\1 a rie tta produce a broadly diversified range of prod- ucts, including rnissile systerns, space launchers, nuclear power systenl,s, space- craft, electronic systems, chenlicals and con- struction nlaterials Martin Marietta C or- 1Jorat.ion 277 Park ,,1.venue, New York, N.Y. BE